On to Wimbledon: Recovering Quickly After Exercise

Recovery after exercise is essential to muscle and tissue repair after an athletic event. A muscle needs anywhere from 24-to-48 hours to repair and rebuild, and working it again too soon simply leads to tissue breakdown instead of muscle building and repair. So what can you do if you just finished your warm-up tournament and are getting ready for Wimbledon in a few days?

In my last blog, I addressed Serena Williams returning from a year of injuries to get ready for Wimbledon. She lost her second round and next stop is Wimbledon. How do you recover quickly to get ready for your next exercise session? Read on for nine quick exercise recovery tips.

There are many recommendations that can be made for the recovery of athletes after exercise or an athletic event. Here are a few suggestions to consider before your next event:

1. Replace Fluids. You lose a lot of fluid during exercise and ideally, you should be replacing it during exercise, but filling-up after exercise is an easy way to boost your recovery. Water supports every metabolic function and nutrient transfer in the body and having plenty of water will improve every bodily function. Adequate fluid replacement is even more important for endurance athletes who lose large amounts of water during hours of sweating.

2. Eat Properly. After depleting your energy stores with exercise, you need to refuel if you expect your body to recover, repair tissues, get stronger and be ready for the next challenge. Ideally, you should try to eat within 60 minutes of the end of your workout and make sure you include some high-quality protein and complex carbohydrate.

3. Stretch. After a tough workout, consider gentle stretching. This is a simple and fast way to help your muscles recover.

4. Rest. Time is one of the best ways to recover (or heal) from just about any illness or injury and this also works after a hard workout. Your body has an amazing capacity to take care of itself if you allow it some time. Resting and waiting after a hard workout allows the repair and recovery process to happen at a natural pace. It’s not the only thing you can or should do to promote recovery, but sometimes doing nothing is the easiest thing to do.

6. Have a Massage. Massage feels good and improves circulation while allowing you to fully relax. You can also address any sore areas that need special attention before your next event.

7. Use Ice. It can help sore musclesrecover faster, reduce muscle soreness and prevent injury. You can also alternate heat and ice. The theory behind this method is that repeatedly constricting and dilating blood vessels helps remove (or flush out) waste products in the tissues. It may also reduce post exercise delayed soreness.

8. Get Lots of Sleep. Sleeping is an amazing time for the body and mind to recover. Optimal sleep is essential for anyone who exercises regularly. During sleep, your body produces Growth Hormone which is largely responsible for tissue growth and repair.

9. Avoid Overtraining. One simple way to recovery faster is by designing a smart workout routine that doesn’t cause more harm than good. Excessive exercise, heavy training at every session or a lack of rest days will limit your fitness gains from exercise and undermine your recovery efforts.

I don’t know what Serna Williams is doing but I hope she has incorporated some of these things in her routine before Wimbledon. Her mobility looked good in her matches in Eastborne so hopefully her rehab from her injuries is doing well. So the next step is maximizing her recovery before Wimbledon and getting mentally tough!